The Undocumented

Over the border.

It’s one thing to hear the facts: In the past 15 years,
more than 2,500 migrants attempting to cross the Mexico-Arizona border
through the Sonora Desert have perished en route. It’s quite another to
view the decomposing corpse of a 13-year-old girl discovered baking in
the 108-degree sun, as depicted in Marco Williams’ The Undocumented.
This young Jane Doe is one of hundreds each year that fall victim to
heat exhaustion and dehydration in the desert. The death toll has risen
steadily as the U.S. has tightened its borders, forcing migrants on a
much longer and more treacherous journey. The Undocumented follows
attempts to identify these corpses and return them to their families,
weaving together narratives of several Mexican families whose loved ones
remain missing. The film paints a deeply human portrait of all parties
involved, from employees at the Mexican Consulate in Tucson struggling
to provide answers to grief-stricken families, to the grim-faced Border
Patrol in the desert that tensely tries both to enforce laws and save
lives. While it’s clear who the victims are, the perpetrator is less
clearly defined. But Tucson medical examiner Bruce Parks’ closing words
haunt the viewer: “The United States is asking for this labor force. We
have to ask ourselves, do we have some responsibility in these deaths?”